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Ideology Vs. Reality: Has White Noise Blurred the Lines? by Megan Hopkins (Cota)

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Ideology Vs. Reality: Has White Noise Blurred the Lines? by Megan Hopkins (Cota) UCCS|Undergraduate Research Journal|12.1 Ideology vs. Reality: Has White Noise Blurred the Lines? by Megan Hopkins (Cota) Though a newly budding field of literary criticism, eco-analysis is intentionally broad in scope as to allow for the development of domain specific application. Environmental Literary Studies, or ecocriticism, is defined as the intentional safeguarding of the natural world for the purpose of generating awareness to human interaction’s influence on such (Buell 640). This type of scholarship is open to several means of accomplishing such an end. Don DeLillo’s White Noise has ​ ​ not been immune to commentary entrenched in the topic. The postmodern novel chronicles the happenings of one Jack Gladney and his family. A professor of Hitler studies at the local college, Jack faces two major plotlines. The first of which is a train derailment resulting in Jack’s subsequent chemical exposure, while the second involves his wife, Babette, and her pharmaceutical addiction to a drug aimed at curing a chronic fear of death—an ailment faced by both husband and wife. Weaved throughout are several interactions between minor characters that leave the reader questioning the actuality of events in this satirical work of American popular culture. Overall, the novel confronts the prevailing theme of reality versus simulation as it pertains to the physical world as well as its characters’ psyches. On trend with popular analysis, DeLillo’s novel opens itself up to an ever-present attention on “toxic discourse,” a closely related cousin to ecocriticism that concerns itself with a poisoned world in cyclical debate through a variety of disciplinary vantage points—medicine, political science, ethics, and the like (Buell 641). According to Lawrence Buell, a professor of American Literature at Harvard University, a new “risk society” has risen that is defined by “a ‘solidarity from anxiety’ deriving from the inability… to calculate the lethal consequences of everyday life” (642). Critics aplenty seem to have picked up on this “anxiety” as they respond to DeLillo’s words in comparison to global distress, loss of reality, and the American infatuation with risk. DeLillo’s second chapter involving an “Airborne Toxic Event” is often the first to be interpreted by critics through the sub-category of toxic discourse. Generally considered satirical in delivery, this chapter projects the physical risk of losing a clean troposphere. While the happening will not be referred to in its entirely within this analysis, the Event is relevant in regard to the typical 1 UCCS|Undergraduate Research Journal|12.1 critical responses associated with DeLillo’s text. Nonetheless, what is more apparent—or at least more frequently discussed—is the context of the event framing the human relationship with disaster. In other words, the event’s value is based on the reactions its afflictions create on the novel’s characters. This exchange is most commonly discussed through a critical platform tasked with investigating the uncertainties of our contemporary world through theoretical analysis—otherwise defined as “risk theory” (Heise 747). The event is staged as a media produced performance. For example, Jack first learns of the event through his own sight, but neglects to move his family until the radio instructs him to do so. He is later exposed to an unidentified airborne substance but does not succumb to worry until a computer analyzes his potential and eventual death. Ursula K. Heise, a professor of Literary studies at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA, comments on this inconsistency and perpetuates another common form of criticism regarding DeLillo’s text as a catalyst to project the disaster victim’s inability “to relate to [his/her] own situation unless it is amply covered by the media” (750). Heise does this by connecting the “risk theory” mentioned above with the ecocritical movement by suggesting that modernization is one culprit of our morphed sense of danger (750). Such perspectives are also referred to as a response to media-scape centered critiques: “the way in which the American dream is manipulated by the media” (Wilcox 346). Overall, eco-critics and their subsequent disciplines seem to respond to DeLillo exclusively in regard to his middle chapter and its accompanying themes: risk, toxins, and loss of reality. While these subjects are essential when relating DeLillo’s work to environmental issues, the task here is to provide a less conventional commentary on how the character relationships he shows us are just as “risky” as the outside forces thrust upon them. Though representation of setting and circumstance are no doubt relevant to defend the claim that White Noise is making a statement about ​ ​ habitat, this analysis will focus on how human interaction is subjected to similar misuse. Further, through this misuse, humankind is doomed to both rationalize and repeat abuses on each other and their environmental setting. I believe that DeLillo’s piece, whether intentional or not, is thrusting responsibility on its readers to look past the physical plot and understand that the ideologies of its characters, and thus the ideologies of America, are just as damning a cause to environmental deterioration as the materialistic misuses highlighted through the science of the text’s time. Before the commencement of this argument, there is relevance in acknowledging the bias of st the 21 ​ century reader. The average American today cannot make a consumeristic decision without ​ the consideration of environmental concern. With screening apps for products containing unethically sourced palm oil, to low-flow home plumbing, not to mention the glaring polarization surrounding global warming, the nation is at the peak of eco-crisis. No matter the side one stakes his claim, it is almost impossible not to at least see inklings of environmental prejudice in all aspects of life—literary, social, political, etc. For this reason, one should notice the partiality that imprisons the ​ ​ modern reader. However, there is still relevance in re-examining landmark publications for what they could be saying about their time as well as ours. Whether intent is to examine these aspects or ​ not, it is arguable that the way a text is read is just as relevant as its initial purpose. Perhaps most influential when understanding White Noise through any lens are the inner ​ ​ ​ ​ workings of DeLillo himself, or rather the persona he projects. Born in the Fall of 1936 and spending a majority of his young life within New York City, DeLillo was like any other teenager (DeLillo, Dewey 2). He lacked a motivation in school and describes his experiences at Fordham University as not learning “much of anything” (DeLillo, Dewey 2), a fact that bodes well for his 2 UCCS|Undergraduate Research Journal|12.1 description as any other adolescent. However, what proves relevant within DeLillo’s biography is not so much reliant on his personal attributes, but rather the experiences he likely went through, or was at least made aware of. Through the consideration of multiple interviews involving DeLillo, one can see the constant change of customs he demonstrates from interaction to interaction, as well as the array of personal details shared. However, one constant factor is his criticism of the world around him. Likely due to the pessimistic trends displayed in his pedigree of publications, DeLillo has been scrutinized by the statement that many of his pieces deal with an unsettled or “shaken up” world. To this claim, DeLillo responds by saying that “[his] work is influenced by the fact that we’re living in dangerous times” (DeLillo, Nance 3). Such an assertion is no doubt present within the pages of White Noise, as each character is tasked with facing a different social issue—judgment surrounding ​ ​ ​ incarceration, addiction to narcotics, fraud, and self-worth, among others. Complementary to his above defense is DeLillo’s frequent concerns with human tendencies that appear to make up the “danger” he refers to. The author’s responses read elusively, hinting at the fear of crowds (Nadotti ​ 87-89), contemporary American personality (LeClair 22), and the resistance of intimacy (Dewey 10)—all of which apply to different texts—Mao Two, Players, etc. Even still, all of these themes are ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ equally as present within the one this analysis is tasked with understanding. Though vague, DeLillo also links this instability to his upbringing in New York specifically by referring to this setting as a series of dangerous experiences (DeLillo, Dewey 2006). Though DeLillo’s authorial intent is ​ undetermined, it can be said that a link between these personal beliefs has no doubt translated to ​ White Noise. Furthermore, it is worth a look into the so called “dangers” surrounding DeLillo’s early ​ life as they undoubtedly play a part in his understanding of the contextual environment within our primary text; thus, making them pertinent to identifying the setting in which his characters interact. Being in his 50s at the time of White Noise’s publication in 1985, and in relation to some ​ ​ biography discussed above, it is clear that a link is present between what DeLillo grew up experiencing and some of his more modern societal interactions demonstrated throughout the text. The 1960s were marked, partly, by the emergence of several environmental concerns still discussed today. News of acid rain and chlorofluorocarbons—a chemical frequently used in the production of aerosol sprays—dominated the media via magazine, radio, and television coverage (Williams et al. 2). Ultimately, this sparked the need to diagnose a central proponent to the happenings which produced the all too familiar relationship between fossil fuels and ozone depletion (Likens et al. 43-45). Even more relevant to the text, predictions were being made in regards to a deeper dependency on coals and natural resources creating the contaminated rain and snow being experienced at the time (Likens et al.
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